Pop Quiz: Boom, Bang, Boom

Here in the United States this pop quiz is going out on a holiday, Independence Day. So I am sure if you live in the U.S. then you will not be reading this but instead you will probably be out grilling something, drinking something, and then setting something on fire that goes boom.

In my family the resident pyromaniac is my brother. He loves this holiday, it gives him an excuse to try and make the largest boom he can produce. When he was younger we wouldn’t need to see my brother we would hear him. In fact I think he made it a point of pride to make the loudest boom possible. It was funny because in our neighborhood you would hear pow, crack, boom, boom from all the fireworks and firecrackers and then you would hear the loudest deepest bwa-wooom as if a nuclear weapon were detonated. Car alarms would go off for blocks and your insides would feel it. No need to see who did it we all knew!

Now please do not misunderstand me. My brother is not part of a militia nor would he ever try to hurt anyone. He was just a hyper intelligent Bart Simpson. Now that he is married with a kid he has calmed down some but he still calls me up and giggles with glee that he has some fireworks to set off.

For those of us in the USA what fireworks related story do you have? Even if you live in another country I am sure you have holidays that you celebrate with fireworks or other interesting traditions. So share your crazy stories of holiday fun.

jodee

JoDee is an adjunct faculty instructor of astronomy and physics at various colleges around her hometown in the midwest. When she is not trying to get her cat, Pixel, off of her laptop she is observing variable stars and researching black holes.